The present invention relates to atomizers of the type in which air flow is used to aspirate and atomize liquid for the control of humidity in a confined space, such as in a textile mill, and is particularly directed to atomizers of this type that are self-cleaning by the relative movement of a cleaning rod in the nozzle of the atomizer.
A typical example of the prior art in this field is my U.S. Pat. No. 3,332,623, which discloses an atomizer having a stationary cleaning rod and a nozzle formed in a carriage that reciprocates to effect relative cleaning movement of the rod in the nozzle, with the rod being in the nozzle during operation of the atomizer and with the liquid flow being controlled indirectly by controlling the characteristics of the aspirating air without positive sealing of liquid at the nozzle when the atomizer is inoperative. Examples of prior art atomizers that function similarly but have stationary nozzles and reciprocating cleaning rods are disclosed in Hodge U.S. Pat. No. 2,179,184, Simon U.S. Pat. No. 2,362,102, and Simon U.S. Pat. No. 2,186,214. Thus, direct control of the flow of liquid through an atomizer is not disclosed in the prior art, and needle valves for controlling liquid flow as disclosed in Paasche U.S. Pat. No. 2,843,425, Bramsen U.S. Pat. No. 1,960,724, Purnell U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,682, Ott U.S. Pat. No. 3,561,680, and Watanabe U.S. Pat. No. 3,195,819 are generally non-analogous in application, being directed to fuel, paint, chemical, or the like spray devices that are not adopted for nor require use with cleaning rods.
In contrast, the atomizer of the present invention combines the advantages of a cleaning rod with valve means associated with the cleaning rod for directly and finely controlling the flow of liquid to the nozzle of the atomizer while also providing positive sealing of the nozzle when the atomizer is inoperative.